2009/1/13 Dr Joegy K Shah <[log in to unmask]>:
> Amazingly, my son (nearly 13 yrs old) called a white boy on the school bus the P-word!
A fascinating story, which demonstrates just how much pejorative force
the word has acquired.
Friends comrades and lovers may call each other extraordinary names in
private by mutual consent. The more pejorative the word, the more
private must its use be. And if the relationship is not equal the
consent may not be valid. If you learned that I am in the habit of
calling my wife "bitch" when we are alone together you might be
worried unless you knew what an indomitable personality she has. It is
the privacy and the consent to Prince Harry's remark that are in
question.
You really don't want to know what she calls me. ;-)
--
Michael Leuty
Nottingham, UK
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